Many of you out there have probably heard of the Hour of Code, and the folks behind it, code.org. Started in early 2013 by Hadi and Ali Partovi, these guys have done an incredible job of impacting the world of computer science education for kids. Since their founding, code.org has helped millions of kids in the U.S. and around the world learn to code, and hundreds of thousands of teachers get set up to teach coding to kids. These guys have been instrumental to the still-nascent industry of teaching kids to code, so we really wanted to give them a shout-out by blogging about them!

Check out some of the awesome stuff on their site:

Coding Statistics

We all know kids need to learn to code, but ah, can you quantify it? Now you can! Check out some of these amazing stats from their stats page:* There are currently about 500,000 open computing jobs nationwide. But last year, only about 40,000 computer science students graduated into the workforce.* A computer science major can earn 40% more than the college average* Women who try AP Computer Science in high school are 10x more likely to major in it in college. Blacks and Hispanics are 7x more likely.* 90% of parents want their children to learn computer science, but only 40% of schools teach computer programming

Whoa, those are some serious stats! Coding for kids is no joke!

Coding Platforms for Students

If you're a student wanting to code, check out their Learn tab and you'll see a few options, including some fairly self-guided options. They've created two cool coding platforms, one targeted at younger kids (Code Studio) and one aimed more for older kids (App Lab). This is also where you'd go if you want to do an Hour of Code at your school. You'll also find lots of links to other tutorial sites to get your kids up and running asap, not a lot of prep needed!

Coding Curriculums for Teachers

If you're a teacher with kids chomping at the bit (haha, is that a pun?) to code, check out this section by clicking on Teach. You'll find curriculums you can use to teach kids, broken up into elementary, middle, and high school. It looks like they're still working on rolling out their high school curriculum at the time of this blog. The best part of all these curriculums is they're free! But sorry, they don't come with a robot teacher - you'll need to fill that position yourself!

Hour of Code

If you've never heard of Hour of Code, then you've definitely been living under the proverbial rock, at least as it relates to coding for kids. code.org has done an amazing job of making this an almost ubiquitous term, known by teachers around the country. Hour of Code originally started as an hour during Computer Science Education Week in December where kids around the country spend an hour learning to code, and has since spawned a life of its own where almost half a BILLION kids have tried it and been exposed to coding. That's a lot of kids!

What's Next?

There's much more to code.org, so if you have a sec, make sure to check out their site. You'll also find great quotes from big names like Sheryl Sandberg, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and even a cool video with celebrity athletes like Draymond Green and Serena Williams that want your kid to learn to code! If that doesn't make you wanna grab your kid right now and throw them into learning to code, I don't know what will! Kudos to Hadi and all his great work, we look forward to plenty more awesomeness to come!

Shameless plug moment, while code.org has amazing resources, it doesn't come with a personal Code Coach® (at least not until they've figured out how to 3D print a person to your house!). We at the Coder School believe that learning to code is best done with the guidance of an experienced coder and in a social and cool environment with other students. So go out and find a teacher, a mentor, or a Code Coach®, and let's get our next generation ready. Learn to Code. Change the World.®

What is theCoderSchool? We are an after-school drop-off program for kids learning to code - a coding school! There's after-school kung fu. There's after-school music lessons, sports, art, tutoring, Chinese, you name it, it's out there. But coding for kids? We're among the first of many, and the largest in Silicon Valley with more locations on the way around the country. The future will be ever more dependent on technology so let's get our young generation ready. Learn to Code, Change the World®.

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